Yule Ball '77

[Gabriella Rivera]

It was unbelievable. This night, her being Duchess, everything was just unbelievable, and Gabby wanted to pinch herself to make sure it wasn't all a dream, but she knew she didn't have to because even her dreams couldn't be as good as this. Reluctant to release Jayden (maybe Ambrosia had found Fabian and was now admiring his muscles), Gabby wrapped her arms loosely around his waist, grateful that he was doing the same in holding her close. It was obvious, then, why she immediately jumped on the chance of spending more time with him at the ball when he asked her to dance, eagerly nodding her assent. "I would be honored, Mr. Flynn," she said in an exaggerated British accent, curtsying dramatically and then letting out a little giggle, sliding her arms around his neck as a slower song started playing, leaning forward to rest her forehead against his shoulder and humming quietly along and immersing herself into the dance, because it's the quiet moments that count.

[/color]

Everything was about ready and Alice was seriously two seconds away from cackling evilly and rubbing her hands together in glee, if only because she didn't want to draw attention to them. Well, not yet, anyway. It'd be much harder to be sneaky about this if people were expecting it. She applauded loudly with everyone else when the Yule Court was announced (and whistled, too, of course because she wouldn't be Alice if she didn't whistle and try to make someone uncomfortable!). To be honest, she wasn't sure whether to be amused or not by the fact that two out of three of the boys who had won were her ex-boyfriends, and one was quite a good friend of hers. She supposed that simply meant that she had excellent taste in men. As soon as the hype had died down and everyone went back to their own affairs, she turned to Lucy and May, eyes bright with excitement. "I was born ready!"

she exclaimed over the music, mostly because she'd always wanted to say that. "Anyone seen Severus around? I have a mistletoe or two just for him,"[/color] she whispered, craning her head in an attempt to look over people's heads. She was mostly looking at the edges of the hall, because that was probably where a brooding lurker like Severus would be. She was distracted by May suddenly nudging her in the ribs and, after catching her breath, she looked in the direction she was indicating and almost "aww"ed out loud; it was the girl who'd gotten Duchess and a tall, bespeckled boy slow dancing and looking absolutely adorable. "You wanna do the honors, Luce?"[/color][/blockquote][/color]

Was that someone clearing their throat? Gabby lifted her head from Jayden's shoulder, looking up at him in confusion. She started to ask him if he'd heard that when a voice - the same one? - suddenly demanded "kiss her!" and she looked in the direction it came from - up?! It wasn't difficult to recognised the bunch of leaves, tied with a red ribbon, but she blinked a couple of times to make sure she was seeing it right and - yet. It was a talking mistletoe. And it was hovering directly above her and Jayden. "Oh, no," she groaned in mortification, dropping her hands from his shoulders. She tried to step out from under it, but it was like an invisible force was caging them in a bubble and her shoulders dropped. No way. There was no way it wouldn't let them get out from under it unless they actually kissed! This was Jayden! She couldn't kiss Jayden! They were best friends and, oh Dios, it would be so awkward and there was no way he would want to, he only liked to be intimate with his girlfriends and it could ruin their friendship and wait was it talking more? "Kiss her. KIIIISS HERRRR. DOOOOOO IT. Merlin's saggy balls, what are you doing waiting?!?!?! That is some NICE cleavage by the way, sweetheart, you might want to pull your dress up a little...or leave it down, seeing as it'll probably be coming off later anyway." CLEAVAGE?! Mortified even further, Gabby smacked a hand over her neckline, worried that it had, indeed, slipped, but it seemed exactly the same as before and it wasn't like she had enough up there to make an impressive amount and oh Dios it wasn't done yet and already her cheeks felt like they were on fire and oh Dios why them?! "YOU'RE STILL HERE?! Oh my god this is just pathetic, seriously, stop being awkward, and stop freaking out over how fucking funny I am - because I am - and just SNOG her I'm sick of telling you what to do and you're not leaving until you kiss her so just do it, get it over with. Sweet circe the sooner you do it the sooner you'll be able to carry on with your lovely little evening--"**

The ground would really be doing her an incredibly favour if it just opened up and swallowed her whole right about now.

[/color]

**ELLIE WAS THE GENIUS WHO WROTE THIS. I DID NOT MAKE IT UP. NO GODMODING HEEERE

[/blockquote]

[Jayden Flynn]

The music slowed down into something softer as Jayden stepped with Gabby over to the dance floor again, letting his right arm wind around her waist as his left held her other hand up to the side, leaning his cheek and half of his chin on top of her head—he was about that much taller than her—as she rested her forehead against his shoulder, and a smile slid onto his face automatically, he wasn’t sure why. Looking over her head, Jayden led them into a sway along with the music, feeling a calmness settle over him even as his stomach twisted a little, from hunger, he supposed, until the sound of somebody clearing their throat, and Gabby pulling away from him, brought him back to reality, and he blinked at her through his glasses, frowning. “What?” he asked, thinking she’d said something, before following her gaze up to—oh, no.

Mistletoe.

Wait. Had it just—the sudden outburst from the little plant made Jayden spring backwards, letting go off Gabby with a yelp and staring, mortified and scandalized, as the offending object began to sprout a variety of ridiculously dirty things at them, causing his face to increase in heat and redness and he flickered his eyes from the plant back to Gabby, eyes wide. “Hump off!

[/color]” he told it, muttering a little, feeling embarrassed beyond relief. He wasn’t going to kiss Gabby! It was Gabby! They were friends. The mistletoe had it wrong; they weren’t even together. They hadn’t even come to the Yule ball with each other and it was—his face paled as Gabby covered her cleavage, and he glanced down automatically, startled into the thoughts before quickly looking away, berating himself for even thinking about that when it was Gabby and what the bloody hell was going on!? “I’m not—[/color]” he started to say, still blushing hard, when he was once again interrupted. “Guys, okay. Think of all the babies that are being made in the time you've wasted just standing under this mistletoe. Think of all the people who are dying. Think of all the people getting into broom accidents and think of all the people who are getting their heartbroken and here I am presenting you two with a completely lovely opportunity to bring more love into the world and you're just standing there like useless lumps! Live a little, for crying out loud! You're never going to get another opportunity for this again! Time is a-wasting!” Somebody could kill him now and it would have been completely fine. He felt like his face was on fire and as if everybody was looking over and he didn’t know what to do with his body, as he stood there uselessly, trying not to catch Gabby’s eye because he was going to die of mortification.

“Not that this is a death threat or anything don't worry—and you're just STANDING THERE LOOKING INTO THE EYES OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT. NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO DO NOTHING ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS. Now is the time to take action. NOW. SNOG!” Jayden jumped a little as it started yelling again, and swallowed hard, turning to look at Gabby now, because what else could he do!? He tried to move back, but like Gabby, there seemed to be a force tying them together or something, because he felt like something was tugging at his stomach and pushing at his back and he almost lost his balance as he tripped forward somewhat, having to catch himself on Gabby’s shoulders. “I can’t kiss you,[/color]” he blurted out, looking at her, eyes wide again. “We’re not—I can’t![/color]”
[/color][/blockquote]

[Gabriella Rivera]

This was terrible! Absolutely awful! Oh, God, why did this have to happen to her? And with Jayden? It wouldn't be this bad if it was with a complete stranger! Not that there was really anything technically wrong with him, quite the opposite, she was sure he was a fantastic kisser but ugh she wasn't even supposed to be thinking that! It was Jayden Flynn! Her best friend! It would have been the same way with Lyle or Gideon, or even Emmeline. Okay, maybe not as bad as Emmeline, because at least Jayden was a guy, but still! And, oh God, the voice (what was that accent anyway?!) so wasn't helping by shouting dirty things at them and had Jayden's eyes actually traveled to her cleavage?! Ay Dios mio, her face was about to explode for sure! And why did the person controlling the mistletoe think they were a couple, anyway? Did they look like a couple? Gabby's stomach twisted slightly, although not unpleasantly. She glanced briefly at Jayden's face, but then looked at his shoulder instead, because she wasn't sure she wanted to initiate eye contact with him, either, because then that would make things even more awkward and oh, wow, did it really just have to yell at them like that and startle her? Annoyed, Gabby scowled up at the mistletoe, as if it might somehow see her and just shut up and leave them alone, but apparently not. Cringing and hoping that, by some sort of miracle, no one was noticing them (she didn't dare look around and see if anyone was watching, that would make her feel even worse), Gabby looked at Jayden helplessly, startled when he suddenly grabbed her shoulders, for one heart-stopping moment thinking that he actually was going to kiss her.

And then he exclaimed that he couldn't kiss her and her heart dropped, too fast for her to catch why. And then, just as suddenly, frustration rose to the surface and she squared her shoulders. "I'm honestly sorry you got stuck under the mistletoe with me," she started, her voice snappier than anticipated, but it was just that she was sort of hurt about how he'd said it, as if he couldn't stand to kiss her; was she really so unattractive to him that he couldn't even bring himself to give her one little peck? "But apparently it's not going to let us go until we kiss, and I don't want to be stuck here under a mistletoe that's shouting dirty things at me all night, so I figure you'll just have to...to suck it up and deal with it!"

[/color] she huffed, not entirely sure what had gotten her so riled-up. Perhaps a mixture of feeling so scorned and the foreign mistletoe getting on her nerves. Not really anticipating much of a response, Gabby grasped his shoulders and leaned up as high as she could get on her toes, pulling him down to meet her, and pressed her lips firmly against his. It wasn't romantic, or very deep. She didn't see fireworks or sparks or anything like that. Mostly, she was just thinking how awkward this was going to make their friendship, and how Jayden wouldn't be able to look her in the eye for the rest of the night, if not longer. Finally, when she figured she'd kissed him for a long enough time to satisfy the stupid mistletoe, she pulled back and took a couple of steps away, glad when there was nothing to stop her except for the couple dancing behind her. Her eyes widened as she realised what she'd just done and she felt the blood rush to her cheeks all over again (although she wasn't sure when it had ever left). "I'm s-sorry,"[/color] she stammered, and then turned around and fled out of the Great Hall, heading for the nearest bathroom.

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[ambrosia]

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Ambrosia’s heart slammed against her chest as she sat in front of the mirror, watching herself apply the light makeup she had picked out for the evening’s festivities. She didn’t know if she was entirely ready for the Yule Ball yet, but she supposed she would have to be. She didn’t feel as if she had prepared herself enough to see her best friend (and secret crush) Luke going with a girl that she positively couldn’t stand, Emmeline Vance. The hairs on her arm and neck practically bristled at the mere thought of the younger girl’s name. She thought of a few weeks back when she had actually approached Emmeline in the common room and had accidentally spilled the fact that she was in love with Luke to the astonished fifth year. Of course, Ambrosia hadn’t meant to tell basically the one person she never wanted to tell her deepest, darkest secret but she was in such a jealous rage that all she could see was red and her mind had gone haywire… Letting out one big sigh, Ambrosia finished applying her light pink, rather neutral lipstick and stood to fully view herself in the mirror. The short black dress she had picked out went extremely well with the red heels she was currently wearing and she was overall pleased with the way she looked. Honestly, she hoped that she looked better than Emmeline so that maybe Luke would see her in a way that wasn’t just… friend material.

She gave her last once-over in the mirror and grabbed the tiny black clutch off her bed. Tossing her curls behind her shoulders, she made her way casually downstairs to where she was going to meet her wonderful friend and date, Jayden. She was early and she didn’t see him around anywhere, so she leaned against the wall, taking in all of the sights and sounds of ecstatic girls and guys meeting their dates and complimenting each other. There were quite a few couples milling about and for a split second, she closed her eyes and wondered what it would be like to actually be going to the Yule Ball with someone she fancied. Of course, she liked Jayden, but they were just going as friends and, honestly, Ambrosia was so hung up on Luke that she really couldn’t see herself being with any other guy… Sometimes, fate can be cruel. When she opened her eyes, she saw Luke hugging Gabriella- which wasn’t what made her stomach churn or made her palms get sweaty. What made those things happen, was the fact that Luke was staring at Emmeline; seriously, his mouth was partly open and he looked so… happy to see her. Her heart sunk as she watched the two share a secretive smile before walking out and suddenly, she felt like calling off the whole evening. She didn’t care what Jayden thought, she figured he would understand, and she just felt like curling up under her covers and not coming out until a week had passed.

Sadly, that was not about to happen. Jayden had just entered into the room and was making his way towards her. He had a smile upon his face and looked absolutely dashing- but he still wasn’t Luke. However, she smiled back and peeled herself off the wall to greet him as excitedly as she could, hoping to convince him that nothing was wrong. Of course, she had never been a good actress, so she supposed he would figure it out sooner or later. Of course, she genuinely smiled when he complimented her- and maybe she even blushed a tiny bit. She couldn’t recall a time where she had ever been called sexy and, to tell the truth, she kind of liked it… Leave it to Jayden to know just what to say even if he didn’t know she was feeling conflicted on the inside. She was definitely blushing while he kissed her hand like a true gentleman should, and this only made her grin widen. ”Thank you.” she replied, her voice coming out loudly, sounding more confident than she felt. One more compliment and she gladly took his arm, hoping that she could handle seeing Luke with Emme again. Suddenly, a thought struck her- what if she didn’t have to see them together? What if she just stayed away from them the entire evening? It was definitely a plan to consider… a plan that she just might try to execute.

It was fun, the walk over to the Great Hall with Jayden; they talked about pretty much anything they could think of, getting caught up since they hadn’t seen each other all day. It was also extremely fun debating who looked good in what they were wearing- and who didn’t. Of course, mostly everyone looked gorgeous, but there were a few outfits in the room that Ambrosia thought should be on the do not list. Nodding at Jayden as he indicated the fact that red suited Jezebel well, she responded with, ”Well, of course it does; Jezebel can basically wear anything and get away with it. She’s so unique!” Truth was, Ambrosia didn’t know the Quidditch Commentator very well, but she did know that she loved listening to Jezebel narrate the games- so much that she found herself listening to the game more than she was watching it; which sometimes caused problems. She shook back her curls behind her head as she laughed at the fact that Jayden had winked at her before asking her to dance. When had he gotten so suave? That’s really what she was wondering as she shouted her yes towards him over the blaring music. The sight of the Yule Ball was breathtaking and for a split moment, it almost made the sixth year hufflepuff forget everything that had been happening to her in the past month or so. Almost. She felt Jayden squeeze her hand while they were walking over to the dance floor and she squeezed back, letting him know that it was alright with her if he went over to talk to Gabby. As awkward as it was for her to be standing in the middle of the room while her date went to talk to another girl, she didn’t care because it was Gabby; possibly one of the nicest, cutest girls in the entire school. And her and Jayden were so cute- honestly, it was a wonder to everyone how they weren’t a couple yet…

Then suddenly, Ambrosia felt Jayden take her by the hand once more, lift her arm above her head to twirl her around and place his hands firmly on her waist to let their dancing commence. ”I’m really glad you invited me out here tonight, Jayden. I’m having a lot of fun; thank you.” She smiled, loving how wonderful her friends were to her, even if they didn’t know it.

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[teddy]

i think i’ve been here before
i think i’ve run into you
i know the things that you do
‘cause this is deja vu

[/font]

This was surreal.

Not only was this his last Yule Ball, his last year at Hogwarts, but he was attending it with Andromeda Black. Andromeda-not-Annie, with whom he had once been exceptionally close back in his first year. But then things had changed at they had drifted apart and now, before his own very eyes, Andromeda was nearly a woman grown and he had absolutely no idea who she was. Or at least, he wasn’t vain enough to suppose that he still knew her, inside and out, as he once had. They had spoken a few times this year, outside their commitments as Head Boy and Girl, and from their few conversations (telling as they were, on both ends) Ted had learned how much he still had yet to learn about this new facade Andromeda was playing at. He tried to understand why she was doing it and failed. He couldn’t imagine living the way she did, sacrificing her principles in order to be included in her loathsome family. Sure, he couldn’t judge her for that, seeing as he couldn’t empathize, and he knew that, owned it. But he sure didn’t like her being someone she wasn’t, no matter who it was for. He tried to put himself in her shoes, grappling for some kind of comprehension of how she could possibly do this to herself. Women were, Ted supposed weaker in nature than males––and he did not by any means intend that to be a sexist remark, simply a statement of biological fact. Women had a general tendency (not all, but many) to lean toward a more emotional and insecure type of existence, especially, he assumed, around this pivotal age. To be shunned by her family must have been exceptionally difficult for her, he conjectured. But to strip away every shred, every lingering residue of her past life, of her friends, her beliefs, her joys, however small and insignificant they may have been? Ted didn’t know how she was capable of that. In a way, he admired her. It took a lot of strength to abandon everyone in pursuit of a goal perhaps forever out of your reach: it wasn’t as if Andromeda could spontaneously become a Slytherin, or just immediately undergo a metamorphosis into what her family wanted her to be. So, he wondered, would she ever achieve what she truly wanted? Was it all worth it in the end? The realist in him wanted to believe it was unlikely. The human in him wanted to believe it was, for Andromeda’s sake, and for the sake of all those she scorned, rejected, and stamped out. He hoped it would all be justified, that it would all be worth it. But knowing what he did of the pureblood types of families (which, he allowed, wasn’t all that much, but enough to come to a reasonable enough conclusion), he doubted her most intrinsic failure would ever be pardoned––that is, she failed in that she was not perfect. This is an impossible goal for which women these days blindly, relentlessly, seemed to be striving. Ted wondered at them. He wondered who they were perfecting themselves for––for their own satisfaction, or for another’s? And he then wondered which one was more pitiable. He wondered, for a long moment, whether it would be sadder to dedicate one’s life to accomplishing an impossible goal for oneself, or for another from whom one desperately craved approval. In that moment, he could not decide––only, he pitied. He pitied Andromeda, as he always had, and likely always would. He wished he could help her. But no one had ever made him feel as powerless as she did, his Andromeda-not-Annie.

Either way, he thought, as he stood, groomed and gussied in front of the mirror, this was surreal. Going to the ball with Andromeda, especially in the state which she presently grappled with, was something he had never even considered as a possibility. Honestly, he hadn’t thought Rita would turn him down. But she had, and before he even had the chance to re-evaluate, he had recalled that recent re-emergence of the age-old trend of the Head Boy and Head Girl attending Yule together and performing the first dance of the evening along with Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall. Now, this was an optional practice, but it had been a trend in past years, and he figured it would be worth a shot to see if Andromeda was interested. Much to his surprise, she was, seeing as she was lacking a date as well (which Ted really could not fathom, not only because of Andromeda’s evident beauty but also because her recent standing in the pureblood community, he figured, may place her as a high marriageable asset, and suitors may aim to escort her). Professor Dumbledore had been much enthused by their desire to put into effect this ancient ritual, and even though Andromeda was clearly less-than-pleased at having to resort to Ted, he himself was mildly content with it. He didn’t quite want to label it as closure, because that was not at all what it was, but––being here with Andromeda, as surreal as it was, felt somehow fated. He couldn’t explain it. It was as if their relationship (he used the term extremely loosely) had finally come full circle. Though it wasn’t really ideal and it hadn’t been what either of them had originally wanted, Ted felt that this was somehow right. They began their Hogwarts career together and here, now, they would end it. He took a moment then to pause and reflect on how he couldn’t believe that the year had already gone by halfway. The ground beneath him almost shifted as he mused on how quickly the years had flown. Ted couldn’t help but remember when he was a young boy, standing in front of this same mirror, wondering to himself, what will I look like when I’m a big seventh year? Ted couldn’t remember enough of his childlike fantasy of his future-self in order to make an adequate comparison, but as he regarded his appearance––his beard, his shoulder-length hair, his piercing brow––he felt that his eleven-year-old-self would have been pleased. Ted couldn’t pretend to know himself that well (oh what St. Augustine would make of him...), but he could sense it: he was satisfied with who he was. Aside from that slight issue involving Rita, Ted was pleased with his seventh year, proud to be Head Boy, proud to be escorting his old friend to the ball, proud to be a Tonks. A faint smile crept onto his face and reached his eyes. Ted straightened his bowtie and started out for the door, when, within the moment, a choked memory surfaced in his periphery. There was another reason why he felt like this moment was so surreal. It was because he had lived it before––he, that selfsame boy of eleven, had fantasized about taking young Andromeda to the Yule Ball one day. He’d had a crush on her then. Ted could remember this fantasy distinctly, down to every last detail, which was strange, considering how long it had been since he’d thought of it. He let out a little chortle and pulled back the door, resisting the urge to tease himself for this. Yes, he concluded: his eleven-year-old-self would have been proud of him tonight.

Given that this was more of a formal ritual event than it was a date, Ted wrestled with the idea of buying her flowers. It would take a great deal of his small savings to get a bouquet that wouldn’t disappoint her, but on the flipside, he wondered if he could buy her any such thing without disappointing her or angering her in some way. In the end, he decided that flowers were something every girl deserved the night of a ball. He explained the situation to the local florist and was counseled on what would be most appropriate to purchase; he hadn’t gone too far, thankfully, as the florist had encouraged him not to, especially if he was not sure whether she would even appreciate the gesture or not, but he did get her something quite lovely. He knew her dress was of a golden tincture, so he opted to go for something that would complement this: a bouquet of beautiful white lilies. He had them in his hands now, and they gave off a rather intoxicating scent, exerting a rather calming effect over him as he descended the stairs of the Ravenclaw Tower and entered the common room, where he was to meet Andromeda and walk with her to the Great Hall. He expected she would be late. Most women were, when it came to events like this. He didn’t mind that much. Ted stood in front of the fireplace and fiddled idly with the bouquet. He tried not to be idle, because that was one of the things he simply couldn’t stand, but his nerves were fairly jittery (he wasn’t the most skilled dancer) and he felt compelled to occupy his hands. Nearly five minutes later, Ted saw Andromeda descend the stairs. She looked lovely, of course. No, lovely wasn’t strong enough. She looked ethereal, like some princess from a faraway fairytale kingdom. What he liked most was her elegance and poise; the way she didn’t look like every other girl, the way she carried herself. At once he may have interpreted it as arrogance but now he saw it merely as her. He liked that her dress was modest, that it didn’t show skin. Somehow it was sexier, more seductive, more beautiful than any other dress he could have imagined her wearing. Ted didn’t know what perfect was for Andromeda, but he imagined that it had to be something close to how she looked now. Gingerly, almost shyly, Ted stepped forward and met her at the bottom of the stairs. “These are for you, Miss Black,” he said, with the ghost of a smile. He could say, ‘You look beautiful,’ or, ‘you look ravishing,’ or anything else that he assumed would be classic to say in this moment (or perhaps that Regulus Black might expostulate to whoever his unlucky date happened to be), but he didn’t want to overstep his boundaries. He didn’t want to shatter the formality of this moment. There was something beautifully detached about this and he wanted it to stay that way, for some reason. “Shall we?” He offered her his arm and they walked in silence to the Great Hall. Everything from that point on went well until Yule King and Queen were announced. It was him. And it was Rita. His immediate reaction was pity; pity for Andromeda. She deserved it over Rita. However much he grudgingly acknowledged his lingering feelings for Rita, he held to the notion that Andromeda, with her grace and beauty and poise, should have been Queen. Or maybe that was just what he thought she wanted, he couldn’t tell. Either way, he felt pity, then shock, then mild annoyance. He didn’t want to talk to Rita, or dance with her, or anything. He merely wanted to, childishly, ruin her moment. He wanted her to hurt. His most recent conversation with her was when he poured out his soul, blindly asked her to marry him, and was rejected. And he was still hurting, and he wanted her to hurt too.

“I––thank you, Professor Dumbledore,” Ted said, after his cue to give a ‘speech.’ “It’s a great honor to be this year’s Yule King. I cannot thank you all enough for submitting your votes in my favor. My final year here at Hogwarts gets better and better as the days pass, and I owe that to nobody else but all of you. I look forward to seeing you all in class on Monday, and please remember curfew hours. I want everyone to be safe tonight; no midnight Prefect emergencies, please,” he finished, rather lamely, with a dull smile and an awkward clearing of his throat. Clapping ensued, however hesitantly, as his speech was ill-prepared, halting, and strange, but Ted didn’t quite care about that now. His mind was honed––sharpened––fixed on Rita’s form, which was about to pass him on her way to make her own speech (that he was sure would be long-winded and full of false appreciation, since he was damned sure she had bought her votes and been expecting and preparing for this for weeks). His lips grazed her ear as she walked passed him. Voice imbued with a dark, hushed venom, he whispered, “It should have been Andromeda.” Those were the most hurtful words he could think of to say. He wasn't sure if he even actually meant them. With that, he turned around and returned to Andromeda’s side; awkwardly, though, more as a retreat to her for formality’s sake rather than for comfort, solace, or any other such activity. He couldn’t dare look at her, not after what he had just told Rita. He was afraid he would see the judgment in Andromeda’s eyes, as if she could have possibly known what he––a mudblood––had done for her honor. He looked at his feet, which he typically did when he was uncomfortable, and shoved his hands in his pockets, brooding quite obviously. He should have been pleased that Rita was his Queen; he should have used this, should have marched up to her and said, ‘You see, this is proof, we’re meant to be together, the entire school thinks so!’ But instead he felt only hate, only anger, only disappointment and dissatisfaction. His mind clung to his pity for Andromeda in order to steady itself. He needed a distraction; he needed something else to focus on; he needed a reason not to become more and more hateful before his anger got the best of him. He thought of Andromeda, what pain she must be feeling, and he closed his eyes and suddenly his heart became imperceptibly lighter. He opened his eyes and though the problems were still there, they were numbed by the emphasis on the prevalence of poor Andromeda-not-Annie in his thoughts. He turned to her, mutely, after Rita had ceased her speech, and asked her, somewhat grimly (he couldn’t help it), “Please do me the honor of another dance.” Dancing, he assumed, would be another good distraction. And who better to do it with than the girl who by all rights should have been his Queen? He hoped Andromeda-not-Annie would agree because if not, he was sure to crumble. Funny, how the woman he pitied most out of anyone in the whole world should be the one woman to unwittingly keep him sane in one of his darkest hours.

Surreal, even; one might say.

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[nessarose]

Of course Emmeline was princess. Vanessa didn't even have time to be excited for any of her other friends for winning titles––not even Gabby––because she was so focused on this one thought: of course Emmeline was Yule princess. Look at her, so beautiful, Vanessa thought after her eyes had finally located her in the crowd. Perfect. How was it that somebody could be as perfect as that? And she remained perfect until Vanessa traced her through the throng and saw her attack Luke Neeson with kisses. Something in Vanessa's stomach dropped and she swayed, placing a hand on her belly as if she felt she might vomit. Bathroom. She had to get to a bathroom. She had to hide, she needed to get away. She didn't even have time to look at Fehlandt before she turned and ran as quickly as her heels could carry her for the nearest bathroom. She began heaving the second she dropped to her knees in front of the toilet, the brunch she'd had spilling out into the bowl. Tears, hot and thick, leaked out of her eyelids and she shivered under the violence of this sudden nausea. The image of Emmeline kissing Luke... she heaved again, this time bringing nothing up but bile. She admittedly hadn't eaten much today, she'd been so nervous. She hoped Fehlandt would't be worried about her. Sniffling a little, she flushed the loo and left the stall to wash her hands and mouth and wipe her eyes. Her legs felt rocky, her hands still shaking a little. She looked pale, but otherwise fine. She'd have to redo her lipstick, she thought, absently, as she finished cleaning herself up at the sink. And then suddenly Gabby was there, crying, and Vanessa instantly forgot her own pain and exclaimed, "Gabby, Gabby what's wrong?!" She hoped the traces of her own misery had left her face. She didn't need to be worrying Gabriella. She didn't need to be thinking about Emme that way anyhow. Vanessa just needed to be normal. God, she just wanted to be normal. "Come here baby," she said, pressing Gabby's head to her chest. "Tell me what happened."

[/blockquote]

[Julien Cross]

When Gracie confirmed that she had indeed been looking for him, Julien maybe tilted his head back a bit and raised his chin higher just a touch. So maybe he was feeling a bit cocky. But that was just because Julien liked attention. from girls. From Gracie. what? Weird. He shook his head slightly and went back to smirking. Until she threw out that j-word again. Julien rolled his eyes and made a deep, animalistic type growl at the back of his throat. "How many times do we have go over this?" he asked, trying to glare at her and keep himself from laughing at the same time. He squeezed at her side, a silent threaten to tickle her if she persisted this crazy notion she had about him being jealous. "I am never jealous, the very sound of it offends me,"

[/color] Julien added, dropping his normal french accent and using his best snobby British accent he could conjure. He laughed and cocked an eyebrow in disbelief. "He was a perfect gentleman and cheered you up, huh?"[/color] Well that wasn't allowed. Julien pressed his lips together for a moment while he led Gracie in a small circle on the dance floor. He didn't like the sound of that. Especially that apparently this "Noah" kid was cheering her up. That was his job. So this wasn't allowed and Julien wasn't liking it. but he couldn't just tell her that because then Gracie would definitely think he was jealous. But he wasn't. And right now he was being quiet for too long.

Julien cleared his throat. "Yah, well, you're stuck with me now,"[/color] he finally said, trying to lighten the mood. He tightened the arm around her waist, tugging her a bit closer to himself with his usual grin. Julien might not have the best dance moves in the world, but half of looking like you're good at something is acting like you know you're good at it. So he swayed her back and forth, a casual smile on his face and void of a care in the world. Julien was having a very good time, probably more than he should've been having, but now Gracie seemed distracted. She suddenly jerked her head to the side, away from him and Julien's brow furrowed. "Gracie?"[/color] he asked with a forced sort of laugh. Why was she looking away from him all of a sudden? He removed his hand from the small of her back and moved to tilt her chin back to look at him, but suddenly she was apologizing and disappeared from his grasp.

Okay, what the hell had just happened. Julien was left standing there, one hand reaching out into thin air while the other fell to his side as he watched her run off. Really, what the fuck just happened?? Julien frowned. Did he say something wrong? Did he offend her or something? Maybe she was upset because of what he was saying about Noah? Julien knew he had the tendency to cross lines of annoyance at times, but this seemed like a bit of an over reaction! He had been to focused on Gracie and her purple dress and brown curls to notice that Cal was dancing with the little Slytherin female a few feet away. After a moment of confusion, Julien took off after Gracie through the crowds. He tried calling for her when she stopped to pick up her shoes, but she didn't listen -- or maybe she couldn't hear him over the sound of the music -- and bolted out into the courtyard. Julien followed, shouldering between couples and getting jostled by bodies. He finally made it into the courtyard and was met with a wave of cool air. He only stopped long enough to glance around and find Gracie.

He hesitated just for a moment before slowly walking towards her. Julien didn't know what the hell was going on, but if he was in trouble, then he needed to tread lightly and not get her more mad with her. "Gracie, what's going on?"[/color] he asked slowly as he approached her. And then he saw that there were tears on her cheeks. That startled him more than anything because this was Gracie and Gracie Marlow certainly did not cry and how could he have done something to make her cry?? Two puffs of breath escaped his lips in foggy clouds before he could put together his thoughts. "What's wrong?"[/color] he asked, even though his first reaction was to ask why she was crying but it probably wasn't a good idea to point that out. Girls didn't seem to like it when you drew attention to the fact that they were crying. Julien automatically shrugged off his suit jacket -- well, Cal's suit jacket -- and moved to put it around her shoulders because it was snowing out for Merlin's sake and she was in a dress. "If I'm really that bad of a dancer, you could've just told me,"[/color] he said with a self-deprecating laugh, trying to make a joke even though his eyebrows were drawn up in concern. He didn't know what was going on but there was literally a pain in his chest seeing Gracie upset like this. Julien knew he would do anything -- or kill anyone, if necessary -- to make Gracie happy. That he couldn't lie to himself about, even if he could do it about some other things.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Gabriella Rivera]

Really, Gabby wasn't sure why she was crying. It was stupid, she knew that. She was being oversensitive; she knew that, too. But all she could think about was the way Jayden had looked when it seemed like they would have to kiss, and how he kept insisting that he didn't want to kiss her (well technically he said he "couldn't" which, in her eyes, was just as bad, if not worse because it just made her feel so unkissable and no one wants to feel that way.) Plus, she's kind-of been a roller coaster of emotions for the past month, so perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that she'd burst into tears at any moment. She hated crying in front of people, though, hence why she'd run off to the bathroom, with the hopes that it'd be empty. The only person she'd really ever feel comfortable crying around was probably Gideon. She never seemed to be able to hold it in around him; as a matter of fact, she never seemed to want to. The same couldn't be said for most other people, so when Gabby ran into Vanessa in the loo, she almost wanted to back right out of the door before she could be spotted, but the blonde was already exclaiming over her condition and Gabby sniffed loudly, swiping at her cheeks with the back of her hands and trying to stammer out an "I'm fine," but it seemed rather useless to lie like that when she was obviously not. Not resisting when Vanessa suddenly pulled her into her chest, Gabby allowed herself a few moments to absorb the comfort of her friend's arms around her, trying her best to collect herself and stop being so silly. Once she trusted herself not to melt into a blubbering mess again, Gabby pulled away and wiped at her cheeks again and breathed in deeply. "Really, I'm all right. It's stupid."

[/color] She drew in a deep breath. "I had to kiss Jayden because there was a mistletoe and he doesn't like me that way so now it's going to be awkward between us and he's one of my best friends and I don't want things to be weird between,"[/color] she mumbled. It wasn't the entire truth, but the rest of it was a jumble in her head that she couldn't figure out, so this was about as much as she could bring herself to admit out loud without sounding as confused as she felt. She peered at Vanessa a little closer, and then started guiltily when she realised that she looked paler than usual. "Are you okay?"[/color]

[/blockquote][/color]

[ambrosia]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As much fun as she was, admittedly, having with Jayden on the dance floor, Ambrosia couldn’t help but look around for Luke from time to time throughout the evening. She was used to him being by her side and, quite honestly, wished she had been able to talk to him before the evening had started up. She wanted to see him smile at her again, to see the way his eyes would light up as he recalled one of their inside jokes; it had been so long since she had spoken to him, on account of her frustration with him, that she had almost forgotten what color his eyes were! Well, not really; that would be something way too difficult to forget. As she was thinking about all of this, the music faded to an end and Professor Dumbledore stood and took control. It was always a delight to listen the Headmaster, in her opinion; she thought the old man was crazy in a fun sort of way.

Ah, of course, she thought as he stated his business interrupting the festivities, I almost forgot about this year’s Royalty! She knew that there was absolutely no way she would win one of the titles because, although she was well-liked throughout the school, she just simply wasn’t ‘crown’ material. However, a girl could always dream, couldn’t she? Dumbledore started with the Duke and Duchess and she couldn’t have been more overjoyed to hear Gabby and Cal’s names! Two outstanding Hufflepuffs that honestly deserved the title they were receiving… As Dumbledore finished up his speech, Ambrosia looked over towards where Jayden had left to get drinks to see if he had heard Gabby’s name being called- she knew he would be excited for their friend as well! Suddenly, her heart felt like it was pummeling over a hundred thousand feet to its death; Emmeline had been announced Princess of the Ball, but that’s not what killed her- oh, no. It was the fact that, just as Ambrosia had decided to look over, Emmeline had grabbed Luke’s face and planted a big kiss right on his lips. She felt as if she had been shot; as if the entire world was spinning out of control around her and was getting ready to just drop from underneath her. She had to talk to Luke… but he looked so… happy. How could something that made her feel like vomiting make him want to soar to the clouds? She didn’t know what to do, but she sure didn’t want to go back to pretending to have fun with Jayden; it wouldn’t be fair to him. Besides, he was preoccupied with Gabby so he would be alright. Ambrosia made her way to an empty table and just let her head thunk onto her arms, holding back the urge to start crying in front of everyone.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Gracie Marlow]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This was unbelievable. The best night of Gracie’s existence thus far was turning out to be the absolute worst! As she sit outside, basically freezing half to death, she wondered how things could possibly get worse from here… Considering how the night was turning, things were bound to try and head towards a negative route. She shook her head, the curls, although pulled back, falling to frame her face as she cried into her hands. She knew that she was a sad sight and hoped that no one would come out to see her sitting on the bench as she was. Or better yet, maybe no one would find her so she would just wither away in the cold…

Wait, she thought, I’m Gracie Marlow. I shouldn’t be acting like this! No matter how many times she thought this, the tears just kept flowing. Why do I even care so much? She wondered, I don’t even like Cal like that! Wiping away what seemed like the fifteen-hundredth tear, Gracie came to the realization that she must have actually liked Cal the way everyone else thought she did… Otherwise, why would she be feeling like she couldn’t breathe? Well, the air was cold but that wasn’t the point! This idea made her feel so vulnerable, so taken advantage of, that her tears began to start anew.

As she was beginning to reach the point where she thought she had literally cried herself dry, she heard a voice. An angelic voice; one that brought the words my saviour to mind; and what was even better was that the voice had brought warmth and had draped it over her shoulders. She looked up to see Julien standing before her. Before she knew what she was doing, Gracie shot off of the bench and threw her arms around her best friend’s neck. ”Oh Jules!” She cried, her words barely registerable through her sobs, ”I’m s-so s-sorry! I d-didn’t m-m-mean to just r-run out on y-you… It-it’s just…” She paused, trying to regain her compsure; why did it seem like whenever someone she cared about got near her while she was crying, she tended to end up crying even harder? Taking a deep breath, she took a tiny step back to look into his eyes while still staying in his arms. ”It’s Cal,” she explained, thankful that she had been able to calm herself down a considerable amount. ”I just… I saw him dancing with Lovelace next to us and I just couldn’t handle it.” Burying her face into the crook of his neck, Gracie breathed in the fading scent of his cologne and let the last few tears fall onto his shirt. ”Thank you for running after me, Jules.” Honestly, she was glad he had cared enough to do so because Cal apparently could care less.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Luke Neeson]

Luke was having a blasty-blast. He was at The Yule Ball with Emme, his new shoes weren't giving his feet any blisters and he was officially able to show off his fantastic dance moves. What more could he possibly ask for?? He had immediately taken Emme to the dance floor. Maybe he didn't have the best dance moves in the... traditional sense, but no one could argue that he wasn't the most, er, enthused dancer. Luke might not move on beat all the time, but he never ever danced on Emme's toes. Luke maybe bumped his shoulders into other people every now and then -- accompanied with profuse apologies even though he was a bit too busy laughing and smile to appear all that sorry -- but he could also dip Emme like a pro. And Luke maybe got a little bit too into the music every now and then and looked a bit silly, but by Merlin's glittery silver beard he was going to make this night perfect for Emme. His attention from Emme was only distracted every so often when someone came up to the two of them to say hello, or like when Luke (literally) bumped into Jayden and Gabby which sparked him into a whole new round or excitement. Fact: Jayden Flynn and Luke Neeson were pretty much the most badass dancers at Hogwarts, as was exhibited that year on the dance floor. After Luke and Jayden had had their fun, Luke was immediately drawn back to Emme who was, of course, laughing and shaking her head at them. He had taken her hand again and had opened her mouth to speak when Dumbledore's voice ringing through the hall cut off all other conversation.

When Gabby and Cal were called, Luke let out some obnoxiously loud whoops and cheered them on. He was very happy for them, of course! But he knew that Emme was dying to win also which was obvious because he looked over at her and her eyes were glued to the Headmaster, apprehension sparking in her eyes. He moved to put a hand reassuringly on the small of her back, but honestly that was pretty unnecessary because the next moment, she was being led up to the stage. Luke jumped and let out a surprised and enthused shout while everyone around them cheered. She gripped onto his arms and Luke moved to put his arms around her in a congratulatory hug -- but now she was already heading off to the front of the hall. Ah, well, that was fine! She was just too excited to notice him right now, no big deal! The arm that had hooked around nothing as he hugged air Luke quickly jerked back, hopefully before anyone noticed and instead rubbed at the back of his neck. Yes. Smooth cover up.

ANYWAYS.

Luke placed two fingers between his lips and let out a long, shrill whistle before cheering for Emme and clapping. She was so happy and the smile on her face was huge and infectious. Soon enough, she was coming down from the stage, pushing her way through the crowd and coming towards him. Even if he didn't know what was about to happen, his body must have because there was an odd swelling feeling in his chest, he immediately stepped up to her and he was smiling so much that his face hurt and then -- she was kissing him. Luke had a second to stand there, stunned, and feel his cheeks burning against her palms and her lips pressed to his (they tasted like some fruit he didn't have enough brain power to recall the name of at the moment). He had another second to not know what to do with his hands because he couldn't bury his fingers into her perfect blonde hair because what if he messed it up? And what if his arms got tangled with her's or something? And he shouldn't put them on her waist because what if she -- WAIT a ding dang second.

Emme Vance is kissing you. Pretty sure that means you're allowed to touch her.

Luke's eyelids slid close, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, giving her a small squeeze and lifting her up onto her tip toes while his lips, still pressed to her's, curled into a smile (which apparently makes it hard to pucker). The moment seemed to last forever and they broke apart but her kept her pulled to him for a second more, just trying to relish it for a second more. Luke let out an airy laugh and leaned his forehead against her's. "Congratulations,"

[/color] he said, a bit breathlessly, that painful smile still on his face.

He was jostled from his daze when Gabby bumped into them, moving quickly and out of the Great Hall for someone reason but Luke could only pull himself away from looking at Emme for a brief second to see Gabby's retreating back. Emme said something about going to go see if she was all right, Luke nodded, still grinning like a doofus and very reluctantly removed his arms from around her. Under normal circumstances, Luke would've been very concerned with whether or not Gabby was okay, but right now the only thing that could penetrate his Emme-fog was that he was pretty sure her lips tasted like strawberries. He watched her walk away and then he sort of turned in a circle. This was probably the first time he ever looked smug in his entire life. And there was NO ONE around to bask in the glory with. OH WELL! Fancying a drink, Luke started to make his way toward the punch table when he saw Ambrosia sit down at a table and plot her forehead onto her arms.

He immediately made hooked to the left and sat down heavily in the sit across from her, put his arms on top of the table -- mirroring her own -- and plopped his chin down. He was completely oblivious to the possibility that anyone else could possibly not having the most fantastic night of their lives right now, so he smiled over at her and tilted his head to the side slightly. "Are you playing hide-and-seek with Jayden?"[/color] he asked, vaguely glancing around for Jayden who he hadn't seen since Emme got called up.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[ambrosia]

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He’s never going to see me for who I really am… Ambrosia thought, sitting with her head in her arms at the empty table. Sure, she was having her own pity-party but, honestly- could you blame her? Here she was, hoping that Luke would have a miserable time with Emmeline so that he would come crawling back to her and she could tell him how she really felt and he would realize that he loved her too and everything would be peaches and cream… And she kisses him. The little skank kisses him! Ambrosia was concentrating so deeply on not crying and messing up her makeup that she didn’t even notice someone else sit down in front of her at the table. She didn’t notice at all, until he started talking.

Of course this is when Luke would see me! She thought bitterly, hearing his voice loud and clear over the music, as if they were the only two in the room. She didn’t even have to look up to know it was definitely him sitting in front of her… He probably was even mimicking her as he asked his silly question. Ambrosia looked up slowly, seeing that she had been correct; there Luke sat with his arms folded on the table and his chin sitting delicately on his arms. He looked so incredibly adorable that Ambrosia just wanted to forgive him right then and there, but she made herself stop and back-track to how she had been feeling a moment before. Do you really want to let him just win like this, the little voice in the back of her head asked urgently. If you don’t let him know that something is wrong and that it’s his fault, he’ll never have a clue! Determined, Ambrosia mustered up all the energy she had left and gave him the best glare she could muster… Which, of course, just about killed her because she really didn’t want to see him confused or upset. ”No, I’m not, Luke.” Her voice had a slightly hard edge to it and she was surprised at herself; she had never been able to talk to anyone this way unless she was playing a game of Quidditch, and she had especially never been able to talk to Luke in this manner. Before she could stop herself, she heard the bitter words come out of her mouth, ”Where’s Emmeline?”

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Luke Neeson]

Luke was still in his post-Emme-kiss daze and was in his own little happy bubble of obliviousness. His knees where bouncing where he sat, and there was a wide, excited smile on his face. Genuinely, he thought Ambrosia was playing a game, probably with Jayden because that was logical and Jayden also came up with some pretty great games. Or maybe she was tired and needed to go back to the Hufflepuff common room soon and that was why she was laying her head down. But his nice little bubble was promptly shattered when Ambrosia looked up at him. No, not looked up, when she lifted her head and shot him an angry glare. Well, he most certainly hadn't been expecting that. It startled actually him and cause Luke to jerk his head back and lean back into his seat, a confused look on his face. He wasn't used to Ambrosia doing anything other than, well, smiling, really. He'd only seen her get mad a couple of times, and now -- was her anger directed at him? The way her eyes pierced into his eyes was a big hint, but he still didn't understand... Also, it probably didn't help that his mind was still in a bit of a fog and a good proportion of his already very limited attention span had left with Emme. Luke frowned, looking more concerned than anything else and was further caught off guard when she asked about the location of his date. "Emme?"

[/color] he repeated, casting a quick glance toward the door she had just exited a little while ago. "Er, I think she went to the bathroom with... Gabby, I think."[/color] His naive concern getting the best of him, Luke scooted forward onto the edge of his seat and reached a hand out across the table toward her's. "Are you okay? What's wrong, 'Brosia?"[/color] he asked with another tilt of his head, still not grasping what he could've done to get her upset with him, so clearly there must have been something else going on. The last time they had hung out was when they went sneaking into the kitchens together... And Luke was pretty sure he hadn't done anything to upset her then? Unless his awful, impromptu guitar playing and music writing had done it.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[nessarose]

Vanessa wasn't bull-crapped easily. She may have been somewhat daft in other areas of her life but not when it came to this, when it came to sensing the moods of her friends and whether or not they were hiding something from her. She was just about to open her mouth and protest that clearly Gabby was not fine when she finally spoke up and explained herself. Sighing, Nessa began to lightly stroke Gabby's hair, trying not to muss it up in the process. "It's not stupid," she clucked, rolling her eyes. "I don't see why we wouldn't have wanted to kiss you, you're so pretty, Gabby. And if things are awkward between you two after this then it's his loss, not yours." She hoped that didn't sound too cruel but in this moment, Nessa was more angry at Jayden than she was sympathetic. He hurt her friend and she was in defense-mode––such a mode that could not easily be broken, not only by her own misery, threatening though it was to send her into a frenzy of tears again. "What, me?" she questioned, feigning ignorance. "I'm okay, just a little tummy-turning I think. Nervous about being Fehlandt's date and all." The lie rolled off her tongue easily and she'd like to think it was convincing enough. "Some of his Slytherin friends were shooting me looks. No worries though," she affirmed with a nod, "I'm okay now. Just worried about you, dear. Don't cry, okay? Chin-up. He's just a scared little boy and couldn't handle something as small as a little Christmas kiss." Not that it was entirely small, but downplaying it a little bit, Nessa thought, may help the situation. "He could have just given you a friendly kiss. And anyway, who even put the mistletoe there? Sounds like a rude prank to me, we could tell Ted Tonks!"

[/blockquote]

[Serena Lovelace]

YOU'LL BE THE PRINCE &
I'LL BE THE P R I N C E S S
IT'S A LOVE STORY, BABY
JUST SAY Y E S

Serena felt her heart literally stop when it was announced that her date––her date, not Narcissa's, not Tegan's, not Rita's, not Victoria's, but hers––was the Duke of this year's Yule Ball. She literally couldn't move, so stretched taut was her body with uncontrollable pride and elation. If tonight hadn't officially been declared a fairytale already, it surely could be now. Her date was the star of the ball, next to Ted Tonks and Ian Fleming (neither of which mattered in Serena's mind, since Calixto was the only one with a decent reputation among them and who was, of course, of a pure blood line), and in that moment she felt the envy of every girl in the school. None of them could have her date; he was hers, entirely, for this one night at least (and more, she felt her heart whisper, if she could manage it). It was a few moments before Serena emerged from her dazed state and managed a smile, her face flushing red with delight as Calixto looked at her and requested a dance. She had rehearsed this moment for years in her child's mind, of what she would do if a handsome pureblood boy ever asked her to dance––she lowered her eyes and looked at him through veiled lids, her lips smiling more brightly as she extended her arm in a silent, graceful, ladylike acceptance of his offer. She had practiced for hours in her room the previous night on her ballroom dancing techniques, ensuring that if Calixto did ask her to dance (which he very well should, as it was the courteous thing to do with one's date, even if they were attending as friends), she would be prepared. She had a sneaking suspicion that he may have underestimated her, and she wanted to dispell that as quickly as she could. She was soon going to be a lady and he had better know that. "It looks like your training has certainly paid off, Mr. Bailer," Serena said smugly as they lurched into a slow waltz. "You're welcome." Well, no one ever said ladies weren't allowed to be cheeky sometimes, especially when they were quite obviously and unequivocally the reason for another's success.

[/blockquote]